Comments on: Jesus Green Association - Open Meeting

By: 1666 and all that

1666 and all that — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:51:22 +0000

Please leave Jesus Green alone. Is this to be ‘improved’ in the way that Petty Cury was ‘improved’ by the council?
Please remember that Jesus Green in the burial place for many hundreds of Cambridge folk who died from the Black Death in the plague house there during the terrible outbreak of 1666-7.

By: Laurel Luscombe (Cam)

Laurel Luscombe (Cam) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:43:04 +0000

I do not support these so called ‘improvement proposals’ and am glad the Jesus Green Association are opposing it.

By: Anne Garvey

Anne Garvey — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:19:07 +0000

If everyone looks on the JGA notice board there is an account of the meeting in minutes. Frankly it seems to be a different meeting from the one I attended!
I do not recall for instance any ‘decisions’ being taken to move playgrounds or create boulevards. We were all asked to identify ourselves before speaking but the only attributed comment is to John Cooper. Rather odd.

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:35:08 +0000

Speaking to members of the JGA association after the meeting I mentioned, and they denied ever advertising, a closed meeting on the public notice boards on the green. I was told I must have been mistaken.

I have just found a photograph:

I received no reply to emails I sent to the JGA in advance of that meeting using the email address given on the poster.

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:27:59 +0000

Cllr Blair is quoted in today’s Cambridge Evening News as saying:

There has been a lot of involvement from ward councillors who have ben fully involved with active communities officers in looking at the development. There have been questions raised at north area committee where this has been raised by councillors including Ian Nimmo-Smith and myself.

The only reason the Jesus Green plans were discussed at all at the North Area committee was because I asked questions on the subject. It was never on the agenda and no officers presented the plans to the committee.

Cllr Blair refused to answer questions which I put to her regarding her role in signing off on the bid. She was also unable to update the committee and the public on what was in or out of the final bid document.

I asked for the final bid document to be put online, something that is only beginning to happen months later. Cllr Nimmo-Smith’s only contribution was to commit to sending me a copy following up on the request to put it online.

I am sure that her fellow members of the north area committee will be shocked to read Cllr Blair’s interpretation of the brief exchange as “a discussion”.

By: Azar Semmence

Azar Semmence — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:43:47 +0000

I am sorry couldn’t make it to the meeting due to a bad cold.
So happy that there is a huge support against the plan.
From my experience there is complacency and incompetence within the council.
I live in Richmond Terrace and take my dog to the green two/three times a day. There is a room for improvements, but they are very basic ie damage done by vehicles to the ground, drainage for the grass area, proper and large
bins particularly in front of the moored boats and etc.
The green is a regular venue for late night week-ends drinking parties. To make it a Disney Land will add to the problem. What about floods if more of grass is covered by concrete. Last summer La Mimosa errected a little place by the river to sell drinks and sandwiches. Most families and friends picnic with their own food.
It is a madness when money is needed for many other vital services to be as senseless as proposing such an unnecessary cosmetic job
Mrs Azar Semmence

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:31:31 +0000

The Cambridge Evening News have today published an article on the meeting.

They have been even more critical of Cllr Blair than I have been (though we are both simply reporting her own words).

Cllr Clare Blair, chairman of Cambridge City Council’s community services scrutiny committee, told a public meeting attended by 100 people that she had failed to fully examine the controversial plans before they were submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Speaking at the Jesus Green Association annual general meeting, Cllr Blair apologised for the lack of scrutiny of the bid, saying: “There have been oversights by councillors.”

She added: “It is a very long document and I cannot be expected to read every page.”

Cllr Blair is one of three leading councillors, including Julie Smith, executive councillor for arts and recreation and Labour’s opposition spokesman, required to examine the bid or be consulted on it before it is signed off.

Source: Mistakes over Jesus Green, councillor admits - Cambridge Evening News.
Cambridge Evening News have published a retraction to this story; they accepted Cllr Blair’s claim that she said: “there had been oversight”, rather than “there had been oversights”.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:21:31 +0000

Councillor Tim Bick’s criticism of resident’s opposition to the plans is detailed in this article on the Cambridge Liberal Democrat’s website. This article was published before the meeting, it would be interesting to see how the meeting has changed his views.

By: John Lawton

John Lawton — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:50:40 +0000

I’m curious about the PCSO’s. Were they expecting a bun fight?

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:13:03 +0000

I have corrected the date. I had written the 3rd of December.

By: ABCD

ABCD — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:06:03 +0000

Meeting was on the 2nd December 2008! Doh!!!!